Oakland Cemetery Ass'n v. City of St. Paul

• Decision Date: 05 May 1887
• Citation: 36 Minn. 529,32 N.W. 781
• Parties: OAKLAND CEMETERY ASS'N v CITY OF ST. PAUL.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

36 Minn. 529

32 N.W. 781

OAKLAND CEMETERY ASS'NvCITY OF ST. PAUL.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

May 5, 1887.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

By Gen. St. 1878, c. 34, § 259, the lands and property of cemetery associations are exempt from “all public taxes and assessments.” Held, that this exemption extends to “assessments” for local improvements; as, for example, a sidewalk built in front of the property.

On petition for writ of certiorari to review the decision of the district court of Ramsey county, in the matter of the application of the treasurer of the city of St. Paul for judgment on “Sidewalk Estimate No. 7” against certain real estate, the property of Oakland Cemetery Association.

Harvey Officer, for petitioner and relator.

MITCHELL, J.

The statute relating to cemetery associations (Gen. St. 1878, c. 34, § 259) provides that “the cemetery lands and property of any association formed pursuant to this title are exempt from all public taxes and assessments.” The question here is whether this exemption includes assessments levied for local improvements, which in this case was a sidewalk, the cost of which was, in accordance with the charter of the city of St. Paul, assessed upon the property fronting upon the improvement, “in accordance with the number of lineal feet of real estate.” An assessment of this kind is a tax, the levying of which is an exercise of the taxing power. Stinson v. Smith, 8 Minn. 366, (Gil. 326;)Noonan v. City of Stillwater, 33 Minn. 198,22 N. W. Rep. 444. But, where the terms are used in contradistinction to each other, the word “taxes” refers to those general burdens or charges imposed upon all property in the whole city, county, or state for general public purposes, while the word “assessments” is used to denote those local burdens or changes imposed by municipal corporations upon property fronting upon or situated near some local improvement. In this statute, both terms, “taxes and assessments,” are used; the latter evidently in the sense above referred to, viz., burdens or charges to defray the expense of a local improvement. To give the word “assessment” any meaning or force whatever, it must be held to mean something not included in the preceding word, “taxes.” And it is a familiar rule that a statute should be so construed that, if it can be prevented, no clause, word, or sentence should be superfluous, void, or insignificant.

It is urged that the adjective “public” implies that there were in the view of the legislature, taxes and assessments other than those which it designates as public, and the exemption was intended to be limited to those levied upon all property for some general use or purpose, as distinguished from those charges imposed upon the property in a particular locality to...